


Dear Southside, Won't You Bask In The Splendor of Our Riches?

by grumblesandmumbles



Category: Shameless (US), The Riches
Genre: Crossdressing, Crossover, F/M, Gender Identity, M/M, Mashup, Noel Fisher - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant, Prompt Fic, Shameless, The Riches - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 02:36:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2715785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumblesandmumbles/pseuds/grumblesandmumbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Headcanon for what would happen if the worlds of Shameless and The Riches collided. Noel Fisher fans will note these are both shows of his. Inspired by a convo with my Tumblr friend, who I've gifted this to :)</p><p>I was obsessed with The Riches when it was on TV, it was actually the first role where I got to know our dear Noel Fisher and I've adored him since. It was a pleasant surprise for me when I started watching Shameless and found out he was on it.</p><p>This story is not canon compliant after Season 4, because well, fuck Season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gallaghers and Milkoviches... Meet the "Riches"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andchaos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andchaos/gifts).



It's summer in the Southside. Fiona is sitting on the front porch, enjoying a cigarette and five minutes of peace and quiet. She had an early shift at Patsy's and has tomorrow off, so the rest of the day is hers to enjoy, and she plans to do just that. Kev and Vee are stopping by later for dinner and bringing the booze, and all the kids have plans to bask in the pool. After making it through a rough winter, they've certainly earned it. Fiona reflects on all the doctor's appointments for Ian and Liam, having Lip away at college and not as able to be her right hand man, Debbie's rapid ascent into the dreaded teenage years, Carl's struggles in school. Let's not forget finding out they have a new sister and nephew, and Frank's medical drama. All this on top of her probation. Sometimes she can't believe they made it through everything. But they did. They're Gallaghers after all. They're nothing if not resilient. 

Mickey comes outside and she offers him her cigarette. He takes it and sucks a drag off, handing it back. He sits down next to her, enjoying the peace and quiet himself. After they had finally sought out professional help for Ian, and after some lengthy discussions, they had all come to a resolution. They all wanted the best for Ian, and all wanted to be there for him without the constant back and forth, so the Gallaghers had cleaned out the basement and converted it into a private space for Mickey and Ian to take over. Mickey had packed up all his shit from the Milkovich house and never looked back. He hadn't even set foot in there since. If any of them wanted to see him, they came over to the Gallaghers instead. He had agreed to stay married to Svetlana until she became a citizen, they had come up with a schedule of who took Yevgeny on what days, and Mickey had bought a crib for their basement room. Everyone was satisfied with the arrangement.

Fiona and Mickey are just shooting the shit when Fiona notices a moving truck driving down the block, a nice car following behind it. It slows down and pulls up to the curb next door, in front of Tony's house. Fiona hadn't been home on the day Tony moved out, but she had heard all about the fight and breakup with his Laotian girlfriend from Debbie. The house had been vacant since. She didn't really care though, she had pretty much written him off after the drama with Jimmy Steve had happened. The passenger door opens and Fiona sees a nicely dressed woman with the thickest, curliest dark brown hair she'd ever seen. The woman is fumbling with some keys as she walks towards the door. Fiona doesn't get a good look, but sees her profile and she's stunning. Just from that view she can tell that much. Two girls, one young and one teenaged, and a teenage boy come flying out of the door behind her and Fiona notices a gentleman emerge from the car, coming over to the truck and opening its back door to unload their belongings. Mickey goes back inside, he's never been one for sitting in the sun. Fiona watches these new people curiously. They all seem to be pretty well dressed for this area.

She sees the kids move toward the back of the truck to start unpacking. The man (father, Fiona assumes) is sorting through boxes to hand off to them. The woman (mom) has opened the door and they prop it open with one of the boxes. She heads back to the truck and they all start going back and forth, heading to the house with boxes or items and returning empty handed. Suddenly, the woman notices Fiona on the porch and throws her a wave. "Hey! You must be our new neighbor!"

Fiona rises and moves towards the fence, taking note of the deep southern lilt in the woman's accent. "Guess so. I'm Fiona Gallagher." She offers her hand and the woman takes it.

She's even more stunning up close, although you can see some lines of age and stress around her eyes. "Well hello Fiona, I'm Cherien Rich. It's so nice to meet you!" The gentleman approaches the fence and puts his arm around Cherien's waist. He's noticeably shorter than her, and definitely looks Irish. "This is my husband Doug. Doug, this is Fiona."

He shakes her hand as well. He has an odd accent that Fiona can't place at all, but a pleasant voice and demeanor nonetheless. Cherien motions behind her towards the kids. "That's our tribe. Cael, DiDi and Sam."

Fiona nods and asks, "So, are you guys new to the area?"

Cherien smiles enthusiastically and says, "Oh yes, we just came up from Louisiana. My husband got a great job opportunity and here we are!"

Fiona realizes that she's been outside for quite some time. "Well, it was nice to meet you. I've got to get inside, gotta feed my brood lunch. We're having some company over later for dinner and some down time in our pool, feel free to come by if you'd like."

Cherien's eyes light up. "You've got kids of your own?"

Fiona smirks and says, "Well no, my brothers and sister. I'm their guardian. Come by later, I'm sure they'd love to meet you guys." Fiona likes her, she doesn't know why, but she does.

Cherien claps her hands together and says, "Great! I'll scrape something up and we'll stop over. What time?"

Fiona thinks and says, "Seven should be good."

Cherien heads towards the truck and yells, "Great! See you then!"

Fiona goes inside and sets about making some sandwiches for lunch. When she's done she calls to the kids to let them know it's ready. Footsteps come from various areas of the house and Debbie, Carl and Liam appear. They each take a sandwich and start eating.

Fiona says, "Listen guys, we've got some new neighbors next door and I've invited them over for dinner, so be on your best behavior tonight. Debbie, do you think you could run to the store for a few things for me? Got a list, and I'll give you some cash."

Debbie nods as she chews. Mickey emerges from the basement and Fiona says, "Mick, you going to be home for dinner tonight?"

He shrugs and replies "Dunno yet. Depends how things to at The Alibi. Since Kev will be here, I gotta keep an eye on things. Kate's not a big fan of helping us with anything to do with the rub and tug. Pretty sure Mandy, Iggy and Molly are coming over though."

Molly had moved in with Mandy and Iggy at the Milkovich house after her mother really did overdose on drugs. This time, it was a police officer and not Molly who had contacted Mandy. Despite her reluctance to be responsible for a kid, Mandy didn't want to leave Molly in foster care.

Fiona replies, "I know, Ian told me. The more the merrier. Hope you can make it back! You heading there now?"

He nods. Debbie chimes in and says, "Mickey, I'll walk with you part way, gotta stop at the grocery store. Fiona, you have the list and the money?" Fiona pushes them across the counter to her, along with some coupons, and Debbie and Mickey set off.

When Debbie returns, she and Fiona start prepping some of the food to cook later and then set about straightening up a little bit. Their house will never be fancy, but Fiona would at least like it to be presentable for the new neighbors. She gathers up all the laundry and throws it in to wash, and then she relaxes for a bit, knowing soon enough the next wave of busyness will come and she will start up all over again. It's quiet in the house, something that just a few years ago Fiona would never even imagine as a possibility. It's nice, but a little sad. She's used to the insanity. This quiet is making her even more happy that everyone will be there tonight. She finally wills herself to get up and get the food cooking. She goes into the kitchen to heat the oven, and grabs her phone off the counter, shooting a text to Lip and Ian.

_Don't forget, dinner at 7. Got some new neighbors, moved into Tony's place, invited them over. No shenanigans tonight, PLEASE!"_

As she's putting chicken and potatoes in the oven, the phone beeps and it's Lip. _Got it. We'll be there. Amanda too._

She nods to herself at this. She's not surprised Amanda is coming, and she likes her just fine so she doesn't mind. She does wonder, however, what the deal is with Amanda and Lip. He had filled her in on the fake relationship and how they schemed Amanda's parents out of that ten grand (and although she wouldn't admit it, she was impressed... No Gallagher had ever pulled off a one-time scheme with that kind of reward). But when their spring semester came around, she had assumed Lip would come home until classes resumed in the fall. Instead, he had moved in with Amanda into her off-campus apartment. Fiona wondered if maybe their relationship was more real than they even knew, but she didn't pry. She'd find out one way or another.

Soon, the quiet that had descended on the house evaporated as quickly as it had arrived. The younger kids came out of hiding and were hanging out in the kitchen. Fiona tasked Carl with setting up the big table in the living room, the one usually reserved for holidays. Debbie was getting plates, silverware and cups for everyone. Liam is playing in the living room. Kev and Vee arrive, he holding the booze and she holding the twins, and lay the girls down in Liam's old play pen.

Vee notices all the extra seating and says, "What, are you inviting over everyone in the Southside?"

Fiona chuckles. "No, new neighbors. Moved into Tony's house while you guys were out today. I met them, they seemed nice enough so I figured I'd invite them over, make them feel welcome."

Vee nods at this, and is about to respond but Ian, Lip and Amanda stroll in before she has a chance. They go around giving their hugs and hellos. Iggy, Mandy and Molly are hot on their heels, coming in and greeting everyone as well. Mandy and Lip manage to be civil, but friendly would be a stretch. Mandy gravitates to Ian's side, and that helps to ease the weird vibe that threatened to take over. Iggy greets Fiona and offers his help. She's pulling the food out of the oven and tasks him with finding some large platters for everything. There's a knock on the door, and Fiona knows it must be the Riches. The only other person missing is Mickey, and he wouldn't bother with knocking at this point.

She goes to open the door and as she passes Ian, she says, "Text Mickey, see if he's coming." Ian nods and takes out his phone as she makes her way to let them in.

She gets the door open and finds the Riches on her porch, as she expected. Doug and Cherien are in front, their daughters next to them. Fiona sees the son behind them, can feel his reluctant energy but ignores it. "Hi! Glad you guys could make it, come on in!"

She notices that Doug is holding a tray covered in foil and Cherien has a large bowl in her hands. As they move into the house, Cherien says, "I wasn't sure what to make, so I made a tray of macaroni and cheese and got this mixed salad together too."

Fiona smiles and replies, "Sounds perfect, we've got roasted chicken, potatoes, broccoli and rolls. Come on, let me introduce you all." She takes the bowl from Cherien and makes her way to the kitchen. "You guys! We've got some company! These are the Riches, they just moved in next door." She goes around and introduces all of the various Gallaghers, Milkoviches and associates.

Cherien steps forward and says "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Cherien, this is my husband Doug and our kids. Didi, Sam and Cael." She motions to each kid as she names them, and when she gets to Cael and they all get their first look at him, they're floored.

Carl is the first one to speak. "Holy shit."

Cael is clearly uncomfortable, wondering why these strangers are staring at him like he's a ghost. Cael is a spitting image of Mickey Milkovich, except blonde. Cherien notices everyone staring at her son, and is about to react when Fiona snaps out of it.

"I'm sorry, please don't mind us. It's just that your son looks exactly like our brother in law. I mean, they could actually be twins."

Lip chimes in and adds, "Well, except for Mickey's jet black hair and thug life knuckle tats of course." This earns him a punch in the arm from Ian, but it broke the weird moment. Fiona invites them all to find seats, and somehow the Rich kids wind up in the kitchen with the smaller kids, and Doug and Cherien wind up at the spare table with the older group. Everyone is eating and having a good time. 

Suddenly, they hear the front door open and close and Mickey appears. "Sorry I'm late, got stuck at the bar. I'll grab myself a plate." He heads into the kitchen, taking note of these new people in the house when his eyes settle on Cael. "Holy shit. What the fuck?!"


	2. Everyone's Got Secrets, My Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out some of the circumstances that led the "Riches" to wind up in Chicago. And *surprise*, another character returns!
> 
> Just to make sure there's no confusion:
> 
> Wayne Malloy and Doug Rich are the same person.  
> Dahlia Malloy and Cherien Rich are the same person.
> 
> They will be addressed as one or the other depending on the circumstances (if it's just them, they are Dahlia and Wayne, and if they're with others they're Doug and Cherien).

After the initial shock of seeing Mickey and Cael together, dinner continues, but it's weird. So weird. Fiona can't help but wonder why every time they try to do something, it's a disaster. Eventually, as people finish eating, they all start just drifting out of the picture to parts unknown. Doug, to his credit, has managed to continue talking to Fiona, Kev and Vee as if nothing strange at all has happened. He tells them funny stories about their road trip adventures from Louisiana to Chicago and all the problems they had on the way. Fiona has assumed that Cherien was the more personable of the two when she met them, but now she thinks she may have been mistaken. He's in the middle of another story, one that Fiona hasn't really been listening to anymore, when the three Rich children come in from the kitchen and approach Cherien.

Didi speaks up. "Mom, we're heading next door."

Cherien nods and replies, "Yea, we should probably get going. Long day tomorrow trying to get unpacked and settled in." She turns to Fiona. "Fiona, thank you so much for inviting us. Can I help you clear some of these dishes?"

Fiona shakes her head. "No, it's fine. I've got it. I'm glad you guys came."

Cherien manages to interrupt Doug and hurry him along, as he says, "Okay well, good night Fiona, and thanks again for inviting us. Nice to meet you all!" The Riches make their exit and the tension noticeably lessens. 

Fiona starts moving back and forth to the kitchen, putting dirty dishes in the sink and leftovers in the fridge. Kev speaks first.

"Well, they seem nice." Fiona nods in agreement, and Vee chimes in. "Yea they do, but that was some weird shit with their son lookin' like Mickey, dontcha think?"

Kev agrees and says, "Hell yea! I mean, that wasn't just some 'oh they kinda look alike' shit, that was like 'separated at birth' type shit!"

The three of them just look back and forth at each other, really not having much else to say about it. Kev and Vee gather up the twins and head out to the backyard. Fiona tells Vee, "I'll be outside in a minute, just going to finish in here." The Gallaghers and Milkoviches have all wound up out there, splashing around the pool, hanging out in the yard. While she's wiping down counters, she hears a soft knock at the front door. She goes to open it and there's Jimmy. 

She's known he was back in town for awhile now, and has been speaking to him secretly. She can't bring herself to tell anyone, not even Vee. Especially because she doesn't even know what she wants to do about the situation. "Jimmy," she hisses quietly, "You can't be here right now. Everyone's home." He looks at her with those eyes. She hates when he does that, because unless she's really pissed at him, it always works.

He replies, "I know. I just wanted to see you and give you this. Text me later, I'll come back when everyone's in bed. But don't open it! Wait for me!" He hands her a box and tiptoes quietly down the stairs, making his exit.

She closes the door and wonders how many times now he's wanted her to wait for him. She fingers the ribbon around the box, curious. But she doesn't open it. She hears someone coming in the kitchen door. She quickly heads upstairs and out of sight, and hides the box in her room until later. She hears Vee yelling from downstairs.

"Fiona! You comin' outside or what?!"

"Yea, be right down!"

She runs down the stairs and out the back door into the night.

\----------

Now that they're home, they don't have to go through the pretense of keeping up with their pretend lives. She is free to be Dahlia Malloy, wife of Wayne, mother of Cael, Delilah (Didi) and Sam. She's relieved. It's been some time that they've had this ruse going, but she doesn't think she will ever get used to it, ever get used to living like the buffers. She'd much rather be back home at the camp, but they've burned those bridges and there's no going back. It's hard to be a traveler on your own. That's why they stick together, eschew the buffer lifestyle, doing their damnedest to fly under the radar.

But Wayne, her half breed, he's always been drawn to his buffer side. He's always liked the showing off, having something that was his, appearing to have all of the successes and trappings that a fine lifestyle would afford. Dahlia finds it all suffocating. And that boy today, that Mickey. Dahlia knows that it can't just be a coincidence that he looks just like her Cael. She wrings her hands, full of anxiety. What she wouldn't do to have Nina across the street anymore, with her little magical pills that somehow made everything seem like it wasn't as scary. But she's trying, Dahlia knows she's trying so hard not to go back to that dark place of using and abusing.

She's sitting on their bed in her nightgown, starting to pick at the frayed hem. She trusts Wayne, and she loves him, but all this scheming has gotten out of control, and they're on the run again. Now they've wound up here in Chicago. One thing she can appreciate is that at least Wayne hasn't put them up in some fancy neighborhood. She could tell just pulling up to the house this afternoon that these were working class people. They may still be buffers, but at least they're somewhere closer to her people in the hierarchy. She'd bet that the people around here aren't immune to pulling some schemes or picking some pockets themselves.

Wayne enters the room and starts to get undressed, rummaging through a box on the floor for something he can sleep in. He finally digs out a t-shirt and some pajama pants and goes about putting them on. Dahlia gets up and closes their door, so the kids can't hear her. She throws herself back on the bed and whispers, "Wayne, why are we here? Why this place, Chicago?"

He avoids her eyes and says, "Dahlia, you know why. We had to leave Louisiana, people were on to us. And that's what we do. When they start realizing things don't add up, we disappear."

She slams her hand on the mattress with a muffled thump. "Goddammit Wayne, you know that's not what I'm asking you! Why _Chicago?_ "

He shrugs and says, "It's as good a place as anywhere else. Besides, might be better if we avoid the south for awhile until this is farther behind us. We've been too many places and met too many people down there."

Wayne's being evasive and she knows it. He doesn't lie to her often, and because of this, he's never been very good at it. She hisses, " _Wayne_ , you had better start being straight with me. I know you're up to something here. You can't tell me there's a coincidence that that boy Mickey looks almost damn identical to Cael. Which of course, means that he looks almost damn identical to your _father_. Did we come here for him?"

Wayne looks confused. "What? No! No we didn't come her for him, I don't even know who he is!"

Dahlia is seething now. She can tell that part was true, Wayne doesn't know this Mickey, but something is still off. "Wayne, so help me, you had better 'fess up to whatever you're hiding or I swear I'm taking the kids and going back to the camp and begging forgiveness!"

After a pause, Wayne replies, "Well, I may have spent some time in these parts in my younger years."

Dahlia throws her pillow at him and is about to yell when he comes over and puts his hand over her mouth to quiet her. She pushes him back, but that was enough to stop her. She doesn't want to alert the kids that something is going on. "Goddammit Wayne! Are you kidding me?! You'd better explain right now."

He sits on the bed next to her and takes her hand. "Look, before I came back to the camp and you and I got together, I roamed around for a time. I spent some time down here in Chicago, running some schemes and whatnot. But you don't have to worry about that, I don't think I was here long enough to make much of an impression, so there shouldn't be any problem. I picked this place because of the lifestyle here, it's perfect for us Dahlia. Everyone's got secrets, my lady. Especially here in the Southside. These people's lives are practically brimming with them. I'm sure we can fly under the radar here."

She looked down at her hands, cradled in his, pulls them out of his reach. "What about that boy?" He doesn't answer her. She waits and waits, and finally repeats herself. "Wayne Malloy, _what about that boy_?"

He finally says, "It could be possible. While I was here I had a brief fling with a married woman, it was so many years ago I don't even remember much about it. Lasted maybe a couple of months. But then she ended it, thought her husband was getting suspicious and that was about it. I left town shortly after."

Dahlia buries her face in her hands, she can feel the walls closing in around her, anxiety riding higher than ever. "Wayne, we need to get the hell out of here. This is a sign, we shouldn't have come, we need to go! I can't Wayne, I can't get buried up to my neck in _shit_ again like Louisiana, you hear me?"

He takes her in his arms gently and says "Oh but Dahlia, what if it's a sign that we should _stay_? We're not even here a full day and this happens, and we happen to move next door to his extended family? Maybe this is what is meant to be. Look, let's just wait and see how things go, if it gets to be too much, we'll move along like we always do. I promise. In the meantime, I can try to find out what I can about that boy and see if there's any connection. Just _relax_ , Dahlia. It'll be fine."

She rolls over, puts her back to him and whispers, "You always say that, Wayne. But it never is."

\----------

After Sam had fallen asleep, Cael and Didi snuck out of the house and were sitting together on the back porch of their new home. They had heard their parents having some sort of whispering argument, and wanted no part of it. They sit next to each other, quiet.

"They seem nice," Didi says, nodding her head towards the house next door, the people they had just spent their dinner with, now splashing away in the pool and lazing around the yard.

Cael just shrugs as he lights a cigarette, the ember glowing hot and orange in the night. He's never been the friendliest, not towards strangers and _especially_ not towards buffers. He had been against coming to Chicago, wanting to return back to the life he used to know. The only reason he hadn't just taken off on his own was because he knew it would break his mother's heart, and he couldn't do that to her. He didn't love anyone in the world the way he loved her, and his always taking her side on matters was how he proved it. Their mother hadn't been fond of the idea either, but had come around. When she did, so did he. Didi had loved the idea. She always held more of an adventurous spirit like her father. And also like him, she always wanted more, wanted better. This was a step down from their life in Baton Rouge, but certainly better than roaming around in their RV, living at the campgrounds. She may be a traveler, but the life was never fully for her.

Didi watches these new people, and she takes particular interest in Lip. He looks like Ike, but he also has an arrogance about him that she's attracted to. She watches as he moves about the yard, fast and alert. She doesn't know why, but she's fascinated. Didi doesn't realize it, but Cael is watching her.

He leans over to her and says, "Don't get any ideas, Didi. Don't get too friendly with these people. Betcha it won't be too long now before we're on to a new place anyway." He flicks his cigarette butt into the yard and heads inside.

She understand where he's coming from, but she's done running. No matter what, if it seems promising here, she plans on putting down some roots once and for all. Might make it easier if she gave herself something (or someone) to root to. She looks Lip over one more time and heads inside herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr at [Grumbles and Mumbles](http://grumblesandmumbles.tumblr.com).


	3. Meet the Dempseys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Riches slowly start to integrate themselves into the Southside life.

Once they had moved the party outside, the night started looking up again. The drinks were flowing, they were splashing away in the pool and it felt like summer. Fiona was having a good time, but her mind was still on Jimmy and that gift he left with her. She tried to concentrate on having fun with everyone, but she was just too distracted. Luckily for her, things started to wind down. The younger Gallaghers all packed it in and headed for bed, taking Molly with them who was sleeping over. Mandy and Iggy left at that point too. Kev took the twins home to put them to bed and Lip and Amanda left to head back to their place. Ian and Mickey had slipped away without anyone noticing, probably not wanting to make a stink about Ian staying strict with his sleep schedule. Finally, it's just Fiona and Vee left behind to nurse the last of their drinks before calling it a night.

Fiona's phone beeps and it's a text from Jimmy. He must be nearby, waiting, since he seems to know that things are winding down.

 _Can I come by yet?_ **No, Vee is still here.**

Vee looks at her and asks, "Who's that texting you at this time?"

Fiona tries to brush it off. "Oh, no one."

Vee knows better. "Fiona, don't play. Who is it? It ain't one of the kids, they're all here and they'd just yell if they needed something." Fiona hesitates just a second too long for her to recover, and Vee's suspicions are peaked. " _FIONA you better tell me right now who it is._ " 

She sighs and says, "Vee, don't kill me. It's Jimmy."

Vee actually jumps out of her chair with a yell and Fiona shushes her. "Fi, you've got to be kidding me! Since when?"

Fiona replies, "He just showed up a few weeks ago. We've spoken a few times but that's it. Keep your voice down, no one knows."

Vee shakes her head. "I can't tell you what to do, but you've always chased trouble Fiona. And look how it's turned out. You sure you want to go down that road again?"

Fiona shrugs. "Vee, I don't know what I want. Like I said, he just showed up. He came by earlier, right after dinner, dropped off something for me but asked me not to open it until he could be there. That's why he was texting, he wanted to come over. I guess so I could open the present."

Vee gives Fiona a look that she chooses to ignore. "Well, don't let me be the one to stand in the way. Good luck, Fi. You know I love you girl, but you have to be careful with this one." She kisses Fiona on the cheek and makes her way to her own house.

Fiona picks up her phone again. **I'm in my backyard**. _Be there in 5. Grab the present, I'll meet you out back._

She enters the house and sneaks upstairs, careful not to catch anyone's attention. She grabs the box and goes back outside, sitting on the porch steps. Minutes later, she sees a vague shape approaching from the back alley. Jimmy appears in the light of the street lamp and comes to sit next to her. "So Jimmy, what's this all about?"

He replies, "Open the box."

She unties the bow and pulls the ribbon off, lifting the lid and finding a smaller box. She opens that one as well and there's a ring box inside. "You've got to be kidding me."

He looks at her sincerely. "Fiona, I know that we've went through a lot of rough times. And you have every reason not to believe in me. But I love you. I remember after we first met, I told you that you made me feel ways I've never felt before, and that's never changed. I know I can't ask you to marry me now, I have no right. But I wanted you to know that's how I feel, and I want to prove myself to you. If you'll give me that chance, this ring is yours and will be yours until you're ready to accept that promise from me."

She tries to smile, but her lip is quivering. "Jimmy, I don't know. I think this is too much. You've just recently come back, and there are still so many things we would have to deal with before that could ever be an option. I never stopped caring about you, but I don't know if I could ever trust you again. Do you remember that time I told you that I trusted you, and that was so much bigger to me than I love you? I meant that. Especially with my life, the things I deal with, raising five kids, I need someone I can trust."

Jimmy moves to crouch in front of her and says, "I totally understand. I don't expect you to just throw everything back into it, I know it will take you time. I just want you to know that I'll be here, waiting, working through it with you in any way you want me to be."

She sighs, a tear tracing a path down her cheek. "It's not just that. I know part of what attracted me to you was the sense of danger, of adventure. But I've taken it too far and I came so close to fucking everything up with my family. I've ruined a lot of opportunities for myself and I have to live with that. But I can't do it to them again. They need me, and I signed up for this. I can't risk putting it all on the line again, getting out of control again. I thought when you were going to go back to med school, that it would be a great opportunity for you and also for us. A stability that we've long needed. But it didn't work out that way, and I can't force you to be someone you don't want to be. I don't want to. So I just don't know if we will ever really have a chance. I need time, you need to do what's best for you, and we will see I guess."

She stands up and hands him the box. "I'm not telling you no, or never, I'm telling you I just don't know. I have to go inside, I have work in the morning." She tells this white lie about working tomorrow because she just can't deal with this conversation right now.

He nods and stands up. "I'm not getting rid of this ring, Fiona. It's yours unless you tell me it's not."

She nods and goes inside to bed, but it's a long time before she's asleep.

\----------

The next day, Fiona knocks on the Riches' door. Cherien opens it to greet her with a smile. "Hey Fiona, whatcha doing here?"

Fiona holds up her hands, where she's got the bowl and the pan they brought over last night. "Just wanted to return your stuff."

Cherien reaches out and takes it. "Great, thanks! You want to come in for some coffee? It's a bit messy, still trying to get organized, but I made sure to dig the coffee pot out last night."

Fiona nods and Cherien swings the door open to let her in. Fiona takes a look around and it pretty much looks the same as when Jimmy bought the house, except full of boxes and with a new fridge and stove in the kitchen. Maybe some new paint too, but still pretty worn down. And here, she thought Tony had fixed this place up. Cherien pulls two mugs out of a box, rinses them out and pours the coffee. Fiona notices her hand shaking slightly as she pours, splashing a little of the coffee on the counter. She swipes at it with a sponge and offers one of the mugs to Fiona. They drink the coffee and make small talk.

Eventually Fiona gets up and says, "Thanks for the coffee but I should get going. Have some errands to run. I'm sure it will be an adjustment for you guys here, so if you ever need anything, just let me know."

Cherien thanks her and walks her to the door. As Fiona is about to leave, Cherien grabs her hand. "I'm a little embarrassed to ask this, Fiona... But do you know anyone who might know where I can find an NA meeting?"

Fiona squeezes her hand back and says, "Funny you should ask, I have a meeting I go to. I had a small drug thing, got arrested. I go as a condition of my probation. I have a meeting tomorrow morning if you want to come with me."

Cherien pulls her over and gives her a hug. "Thank you, Fiona. Really." Fiona smiles and heads back to her house, giving Cherien one last wave.

Back into Dahlia mode, she moves into the kitchen and starts unpacking boxes. Wayne and Cael had went out to take care of some things, and Didi and Sam were exploring the neighborhood. The family was supposed to meet back in an hour or two to discuss plans for their new life. It hadn't been a wise choice to introduce themselves to the neighbors so quickly, especially since they were probably going to have to leave the Riches behind and pick a new family name. If they did that, they'd now have to remember three different histories: The new one, the Riches and their real selves. Dahlia couldn't help but wonder how much would be too much, how far they could take their lies. It was like they weren't even the Malloys anymore, they blurred so many lines.

She's putting dishes and glasses in the cabinets, these fancy sets that don't really belong in this rundown house. She can't help but feel a bit amused at this entire thing. They had a house full of fancy buffer stuff. It's not like they were going to leave it all behind when they left. She thinks about Fiona, how she reminds her a bit of Nina. Warm, but doesn't take shit. Someone who could really see a person. Dahlia knew that if she were going to make it here, she'd need a friend. She hoped that she could find that in Fiona. Wayne and Cael return from their errands. They've gotten supplies to make new birth certificates for the family. When Didi and Sam return, the Malloys all gather in the living room to discuss their new identities.

Wayne starts the conversation. "Now kids, your mother and I have had a long discussion about the direction this family should go now that we've gotten out from everything in Edenfalls. I just don't think we can be the Riches anymore. The irony of the name and what it did for us was too much bad luck. We also shouldn't be public as the Malloys, we need that as our fallback. But we thought it might be nice to keep some sort of tribute to our Irish roots, so we were thinking a good Irish surname would do the trick. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

They all toss around some ideas and Sam says, "How about Dempsey? It descends from Diomasaigh, which means proud." They look back and forth, slowly nodding at each other.

Dahlia replies "I like it. Dempsey. I think it has a nice ring to it."

Wayne chimes in and says, "What do we want to do about first names?"

Dahlia replies, "Well, I think I may stick with Cherien for now. I've already introduced myself as that. Wayne, I think you should stick with Doug. Doug and Cherien Dempsey. Kids, how about you?"

Cael says, "Well, since everyone calls me Cal instead of pronouncing my name the Irish way, I'm thinking maybe Calvin. Keep it close."

Didi thinks and says, "I think I'll go with Katrina. Something totally off the beaten path."

Dahlia looks at Sam and says, "Now Sammy, you have a double question. Not just your name, but if you want to be a girl or boy. You know we never care, but you have to pick one or the other. And you're getting older now. If you want to be a girl for real, there are things you can do towards that. But you have to think long and hard, this isn't something you decide lightly."

Sam nods. "I think I want to be a girl. And I want my name to be Samantha." With everyone decided, Cael starts forging birth certificates. He's always been the best out of all of them with the documentation end of things.

Dahlia speaks again. "Now, there's one more thing we need to discuss as a family. As you all know when we met our new neighbors last night, that boy Mickey looks an awful lot like our Cael here. I know you all saw it too, so we don't need to play coy about it. And apparently, you father had some uh... dalliances before me and him was together. So there is a possibility that resemblance is no coincidence. We need to find out more about him and decide how to proceed, if we want to try to get to know him. Cael, we can't have you out on the street trying to find out since people will see the resemblance. As a matter of fact, you should lay pretty low until we know what we're dealing with. Don't need people around here confusing you two. Didi, I think you should handle this. Get on the streets, work your feminine charms and see what you can get about this boy."

Didi rolls her eyes and says, "Mom, you do know he's gay right? That Ian kid, the redhead? That's his boyfriend."

Dahlia smiles at her and replies, "Sweetheart, I do pay attention you know. But if you're just asking around the neighborhood, and you're new in town, no one would assume you know that. Work your charm on other men, _not_ him." Didi nods her understanding.

\----------

Ian and Mickey are enjoying a lazy morning in the basement. Neither of them have to be up for awhile and they're making the most out of it. Mickey had managed to go upstairs to grab them some coffee and poptarts, but beyond that, neither of them have any intention of getting out of bed for awhile. They're laying next to each other in bed eating their breakfast and Ian brings up the night before.

"So, pretty weird that kid looking like you last night."

Mickey nods and replies, "Yea man, it was like seeing a ghost or some shit."

Ian takes a bite of his poptart, chewing while he thinks. "Y'know, he looked _too_ much like you. That's gotta mean something."

Mickey shrugs and says, "Whatever. I guess having some relation to the kid wouldn't be impossible."

Ian turns his face to Mickey and says, "Wouldn't you want to find out?"

Mickey spots a crumb on Ian's lip and kisses him to get it off. He licks his own lips after and replies, "Shit, I dunno. Got enough fucked up family as it is. Don't know if we really need to add to the brood. Let's see if these people even stick around before we start asking questions. We hardly even know anything about them to dig into anyway."

Ian nods, but he still can't help but think about it. He smirks at Mickey and says, "I'll tell you one thing though. I much prefer the dark haired version of you."

Mickey smirks back and says, "Oh yea? Why don't you show me how much you like this version of me, huh?" Ian laughs and tosses the rest of his poptart onto the night table, moving over his boyfriend and kissing him deeply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr at [Grumbles and Mumbles](http://grumblesandmumbles.tumblr.com).


	4. What Happened in Edenfalls, Wayne?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is my headcanon for how I wish things in The Riches would have progressed if the show hadn't been cancelled and picks up from the very last episode. From Wayne/Doug's perspective, as he and Dahlia were in a weird place when the show ended.

Wayne hops in the shower, happy to have a few minutes to himself to process and think. He didn't know if he could ever tell Dahlia the lengths he had to go to in order to get his family here, safe, together. Their family had gotten to such a bad place. Cael leaving, he and Dahlia fighting, her anger and disgust at him over what happened to poor Pete Mincey. But it wasn't Wayne's fault. He was going to run with the rest of them until Dale had to show up and kill Pete. He couldn't just leave the situation like that. They'd have never gotten out from under that. Little did he know that at the time Dahlia was in contact with a COP over her parole violation. But that's Dahlia. Act first, think later.

Wayne has always been a good person at his core. He may be a grifter, a traveler, someone who lives a life built on schemes. But he could never really hurt a fly. The situation with the real Riches, Pete... He looked at it as clean up work, not malicious acts on his own part. But he found his real dark side when he got that phone call from Quinn that he had Cael. That drove Wayne over an edge that he didn't even know he had. And he knew he had to take some serious action. He found Dale and they had a long talk. He made Dale acknowledge the threat that Quinn posed to his leadership of the camp. He came up with an idea to eliminate Quinn and return Dale to the power he thought was rightfully his own. He did it for Cael, he had to save his boy. 

Dale and Wayne went to the camp and somehow managed to lure Quinn away. For all his smarts, he was right about Wayne's as well. The difference was that even while praising Wayne to Cael, he underestimated what Wayne was really capable of, and he fell right into the trap. Dale handled the gory parts. While Wayne decided this plan needed to happen, he didn't really have the stomach for the details. When it was over, Wayne reunited with Cael and had him call Dahlia, since she didn't want to take Wayne's calls. Cael told her to gather Didi and Sam and bring them to the camp. When they were all together again, Dale made a public declaration to them in front of everyone at the camp that they were always safe and welcome there, and made sure to tell everyone not to pursue them in any way. This was as much of an official vow of their safety as they would ever receive.

Wayne had the family go into hiding while he closed the Bayou Hills deal and collected the money. While he knew it was a big risk, he chose not to push Hugh out of the deal like Minkov had demanded, and took the money and ran, quitting Panco and disappearing. Despite everything, he had a soft spot for Hugh and he couldn't bring himself to screw him over, even though he knew that damn Russian wouldn't quit until he found him. He repaid Dale the money he took, plus a small cut of the Bayou Hills deal, and he was gone. The rest of that money now sat in an off-shore account that no one knew about except his family. While they could pretty much live off it indefinitely, he and Dahlia decided it would be smarter to live modestly. One, to not draw attention and two, to keep a nest egg for the kids.

Wayne hadn't decided on Chicago as their next destination with any ideas of reconnecting with his former life. He just figured since he at least had a feel for the area that it would provide them with an advantage for whatever their next move would be. And what the hell would that be anyway? He squirts some shampoo in his hair and massages his scalp, secretly hoping to stimulate his brain into coming up with ideas. He was so tapped out after everything in Louisiana that he didn't know if he would ever be able to come up with another scheme. But maybe that was alright. They could just lay low, live off the nest egg he was hiding, and have a normal, boring life. But Wayne knew in his heart this would never happen. It wasn't the money he craved. He had grown up in a Jesuit orphanage after his parents had died. He knew what it was like to have nothing. No, he craved the adventure. The danger. He told himself that he had to give up that lifestyle for his children, but a part of each of them craved it too. So they would scheme. He knew that. 

But first, he knew he had to figure out what the deal was with this Mickey character. He closed his eyes and let the water wash over him, hoping to summon up memories of his brief affair. What had her name been? He could see the woman in his mind. Blue eyes, but not as bright as Cael and Mickey's, hers were more of a gray-blue. Black hair. She had been beautiful but tired. Spent. Wayne had been running weapons through a connection he had made and had sold a stash to the woman's husband. That guy was a scary son of a bitch. Wayne remember him vividly, even more so than he remembered the woman he had slept with. He had brought the guns to the guy's house, a ramshackle place if he had ever seen one. There had been a bunch of young boys there, their kids Wayne had assumed. And the wife.

She had hung back in the kitchen, watching silently, her eyes appraising Wayne. She had been too skinny, and Wayne suspected that some illicit substances may have played a part in that. But she was beautiful nonetheless. After Wayne and the husband had exchanged guns and money, Wayne made haste to get the hell out of there. As he was walking around the side of the house he heard a window open. He turned around and there she was. She motioned him over and he stepped below the window, looking up at her.

"My husband is going on a run out of town this weekend. You should come back. Saturday." She moved back in and was about to close the window.

"Wait," Wayne said. "What's your name?"

She leaned back down and smiled. "I'm Anna. Hope you come back." She shut the window and was gone.

And he did. He came back that Saturday, and the following one, and any chance that he had when her husband was away. Their relationship wasn't one of depth, but it was fun. And again, Wayne did love the danger. He loved the risk of getting caught, the thrill of it all, how every move had to be hasty and have purpose. They kept their affair up for a few months until Anna had ended things. Wayne thought about the last time he saw her. She had called him and asked him to come by. When he got there, she had been sick. He assumed she was on something, or coming down from something. In retrospect, he now wonders if it could have been morning sickness. Did she know?

"Wayne, we have to stop seeing each other. I think my husband is suspicious. He'll kill you if he finds out."

He had protested, not really out of care or affection, but out of some knee-jerk reaction. But once she had put her foot down he agreed. That was the last he had seen of her. He didn't even know their last name.

Wayne realized the first thing he would have to do would be to track Anna down. He had to assume that if this Mickey was still in this neighborhood that she would be too. Wayne knew he could get Didi to help, see if Mickey would lead them to Anna. He got out of the shower and toweled off, changing into some clothes and going downstairs to look for his daughter.

"Didi! I have a job for you. I need you to track Mickey, see if he leads you to where his family lives or to his mother. She's the key to figuring this whole thing out."

She agreed and went to look for Cael, who had been casing the house next door since he was told to lay low. He was out on the porch, pretending to be occupied with a book. Didi sat down on the stairs next to him and said, "Has that Mickey kid left the house yet?"

Cael shook his head and replied, "Not unless he went out the back way."

She nodded and just sat with him awhile, enjoying the sun's warmth on her legs. All of a sudden, she saw Mickey exit the Gallagher house and make his way in the opposite direction from where they sat. She got up and said, "Tell Dad I'm after the mark." She set out on her mission.

The first stop was a bar. She knew she couldn't follow him in there and risk getting spotted, but thankfully there was a coffee shop across the street. She went in and ordered a drink, taking a seat at a table near the window so she could keep an eye out for him. He was in there for quite some time until he finally emerged and she left the shop to continue after him. She made notes on her phone, pretending she was texting. _The Alibi Room, arrive approx. 12:30pm, leave approx. 1:45pm. 1955 Trumbull Ave._ The address was for a house that he stopped at. He was only in there for a few minutes when he emerged with another young man, who looked sort of like him but with lighter hair. It took her a moment to realize that the young man had also been at dinner with them, but she hadn't paid much attention to him at the time. That was going to have to change. They got into a car and Didi couldn't pursue them anymore. She looked up her new address on her phone and followed the map to find her way home.

When Didi gets back, she finds Wayne reading the newspaper in the kitchen. "Dad, I think I know how we get in. I think Mickey has a brother, he was at the dinner next door but I don't think I talked to him then. I followed Mickey to a house and he met up with this guy, I've got the address. Instead of Mickey, we can make the brother the mark and see what information I can get out of him."

Wayne is always amazed at how good his children are at this life. "That's great, Didi! I believe there were actually a few brothers. See if you can get that confirmed. I'm going to have Cael try to do some hacking to see if he can get any information through legal records to help speed this up. Focus on trying to get a last name, that will be an enormous help. Hopefully it shouldn't take too long before we have enough info to move forward one way or another."

Didi looked at Wayne and said, "You slept with the woman and don't even know her last name? Classy, Dad." She rolled her eyes and went up to her room.

Wayne yelled after her, "It was a long time ago!"

Didi changed into a bikini and decided to lay outside and work on her tan. She figured it was an easy cover to do some casing of her own. She grabbed a towel and went outside, spreading it out and laying right on the lawn. She didn't have to wait long before that same car she had seen the boys get into pulled up in front of the Gallagher house. In another stroke of luck, the young man got out of it alone, Mickey nowhere in sight. She sat up and waited until he was on the sidewalk before she called out to him. "Hey!" When he looked over, she waved and gave him a big smile.

He came over and said, "Hey, you were at dinner last night, right?"

She replied, "Yes, but we weren't properly introduced. I'm Didi."

She offered her hand and he shook it. "I'm Iggy."

Didi chatted him up, flirting and laying it on thick and he bought right into it. It wasn't long before he asked her out on a date for the next day and she accepted. Finally he said, "I have to pick up my little sister. Can I get your number?"

She took his phone and entered her number for him. When she handed it back, she gently touched his wrist and smiled. "Can't wait for tomorrow!" Before he could answer, she went back inside. She peeked out the window and saw him staring at the door thoughtfully. _Hook, line and sinker,_ she thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr at [Grumbles and Mumbles](http://grumblesandmumbles.tumblr.com).

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr at [Grumbles and Mumbles](http://grumblesandmumbles.tumblr.com).


End file.
